(not necessarily in that order)
Today we left early to drive to Sacramento, then spent four hours in an important family meeting. Afterwards we drove back home with a little time to spare before getting ready for tonight’s astral ascension ceremony.
The eclipse happened while we were on the road, but we were headed in the wrong direction and couldn’t see it at all (not that we had made any preparations for looking at the sun!).
I’ve been re-reading blog posts from a year ago and can hardly believe it was me who was going through all that last year.
One thing I’m hyper-aware of is being able to once again fully experience autumn.
We were super grateful for our time in Sacramento, but the fall there really can’t compare with Ananda Village. Not to mention how distracted we were!
Now I’m happy to be here for the duration.
I’m going back and reading some of my blog posts from a year ago. It’s the only way I can really tune back in to what life was like in the lead up to my stem cell transplant.
We had been in Sacramento for a few days at this point. The tunneled catheter was in my chest and we were preparing to have my stem cells collected the next day.
Hard to believe what a different reality that was compared to now. As I reflect on it, I think a part of me is in a sort of “reactionary” mode — experiencing lots of resistance to discipline, consistency, focus.
Maybe that’s why I’m so into upgrading my garden at the moment. Creating wine barrel planters is a way to channel my energy into something productive, but that’s also a treat.
Today was full in a way we haven’t done in quite some time.
We started off first thing this morning with a Sangha meeting (our Ananda outreach ministries version of a monthly staff meeting, which we attended while in Sacramento via Zoom), followed by a few minutes to answer emails before packing up and checking out of the hotel.
Then it was off to my bone marrow transplant follow-up appointment, after which I stopped to get blood drawn for labs.
Then we drove home, where I spent a fair amount of time researching and then scheduling my COVID vaccine “re-do” (it’s not so easy to find primary doses any more, as opposed to boosters).
And, finally, our quartet ran through the entire program for our upcoming Christmas concert.
Everything about the day was lovely, productive, and fun. But I definitely don’t have the energy to write anything particularly meaningful tonight!
These are photos from the neighborhood where we stayed in Sacramento.
The Halloween decorations started going up very early in October; people were really into it!
Greetings from Sacramento!
We’ve been here for almost five full days and are finally starting to feel completely settled into our temporary home.
Our Wednesday arrival was fairly intense. We packed up the car, drove to Sacramento, unloaded the car, grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the hospital for three separate appointments (lab work, COVID test, and a teaching appointment about the nitty gritty bone marrow transplant details).
It was a bit much.
But then we were up early Thursday morning to start with the injections (administered by Ramesha!) that stimulate the stem cells to grow faster, followed by a 7:00am appointment in vascular access to put a “tunneled catheter” into my upper chest, where it will remain for the next however many weeks.This catheter will be used for the stem cell collection as well as to draw blood and give me necessary IV infusions, hydrating fluids, etc. (I shared in more detail about that experience in this blog post.)
Friday was mostly recovery and putting things away, while Saturday was a supposedly quick trip to visit a friend who I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic; unfortunately we didn’t reckon on traffic, which made it into a much longer day than anticipated. Today we went for a walk, watched the Ananda Village Sunday service online, and did some grocery shopping — all blessedly low key activities.
However, tomorrow is the big stem cell collection day! We report to the apheresis unit at 8:00am and I’ll be on the machine for approximately 4-6 hours. It will be great if they can get enough stem cells that first day but if not, we’ll repeat the process on Tuesday and even Wednesday, as needed.
And that’s all there is to report so far. More soon…
Love from Sharon & Fabio
(aka Bhagavati & Ramesha)
We’ve been in Sacramento since Wednesday — not quite three days — but it feels like forever.
One of our Village friends stopped by after a trip to the airport and I found myself wanting to ask him all the latest news. But how much news could there be in less than three days?!?
Pretty funny.
As I got ready for Sunday service, as we rehearsed, and throughout the service itself, I couldn’t help thinking that we won’t be doing this for some time to come.
And that — more than anything else so far — brought home to me that this is really happening. We’re really leaving for Sacramento in just a few more days and then the adventure really gets interesting!
My update in a nutshell: All systems are GO!
I’m no longer visiting Sierra Nevada Memorial (the local hospital); UC Davis Cancer Center is our new medical home base. In fact, Dr. Hung has passed the baton to Dr. Aaron Rosenberg, the multiple myeloma specialist who is shepherding us through the bone marrow transplant process.
Last week we met with a physical therapist who okayed me for an outpatient BMT. (We learned that this has only become an option in the last year and a half!) We also met with Lauren, our transplant coordinator, who went over lots and lots of details with us.
We were in Sacramento again this past Monday and Tuesday, getting the full scoop on the house where we’ll be staying; having lots of blood drawn for labs; meeting with Dr. Rosenberg; and receiving instruction from another nurse on how to give injections at home (which Ramesha will be doing).
Next Wednesday, August 24, Ramesha and I will relocate to Sacramento for six weeks.
There will be a whole variety of appointments over the weeks that follow (COVID tests; labs; line dressing changes; doctors), but the important dates that we want to share with you all are:
From that point on, it’s all about engraftment: “a process in which transplanted stem cells travel through the blood to the bone marrow, where they begin to make new white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.” This can evidently take anywhere from two to six weeks; obviously, I’m rooting for two!
This is the time when I’m likely to feel the most unwell, due to the effects of the chemo, coupled with the lack of an immune system. I’ll visit the hospital every single day as an outpatient (it’s only a three-minute drive from the house where we’ll be staying) and if I develop any symptoms of illness at all they’ll immediately admit me to the hospital.
I must say that I’m beginning to understand just how amazing our immune systems are! I don’t believe I’ll take mine quite so much for granted ever again.
Well, that’s pretty much it, my friends. Thank you again and again for all your prayers and good wishes. There are no words to express how much Ramesha and I love and appreciate each and every one of you. 💗
Yep, the changes are coming fast and furious now…
Today we got a tour and all the scoop on the house where we’ll be staying in Sacramento. And tomorrow we’ll have our last day of appointments at UC Davis Cancer Center before coming down to stay next week. Before you know it we’ll be in full BMT mode.
Such interesting times!